Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes Lead To Major Realization For Husband About His Work Habits

It was Mike Howard's first anniversary apart from his wife, and she had requested he gift her Magnolia cupcakes for the occasion.

After a week in New York on business, Howard got on the plane home to Miami with no Magnolia cupcakes in tow, assuming that a courier service could ultimately deliver them. Due to the bakery's small size, however, this was not an option.

"They [Magnolia] wouldn't really explain to me why this was, so I got angry on the phone and really kind of angry at myself, I guess, because of the predicament," Howard recalled.

The situation made him realize that it was time to re-assess his priorities.

"Looking back on it, it was a pretty clear ask," he explained. "That wasn't a snap moment -- that struggle continued for years between what I thought was necessary for work and what she thought was necessary for the life she wanted to have. ... It's a growth process, but it did finally culminate in me not wanting to have that argument with this person who I love very much anymore."

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Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes Lead To Major Realization For Husband About His Work Habits

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Jones Bros, Omaha, NE

Brothers Brad and Bill Jones, with their parents, Jerry and Elizabeth, run this superpopular dessert restaurant, the first of its kind in Omaha. The family serves terrific cupcakes like the new Ice Cream Sundae (ganache-filled chocolate cake iced with vanilla buttercream, drizzled with chocolate and topped with crushed peanuts and a maraschino cherry). Their Sweet and Salty cupcake (a caramel-and-sea-salt-filled chocolate cake topped with chocolate buttercream and caramel drizzle) is the shop’s top best-seller and a favorite of F&W’s editors.
<strong>Plus: <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/americas-best-doughnuts">America’s Best Doughnuts</a></strong>